SUFFER THE CHILDREN

'Worst' child abuse: Pastor's widow gets 5 life sentences

1 female victimized from age 7 until 21

(DALLASNEWS) — A Central Texas woman was sentenced to five life sentences this week for sexual assault of her children, who reported the abuse after escaping from her house, officials said.

The trial started Monday in Burnet, about 60 miles northwest of Austin, and focused on sexual abuse committed by both Misty Rae Hopkins and her late husband, John Hopkins, who acted together, as well as apart, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office.

John Hopkins was a pastor at a church in the area during the time of the offenses. He died in 2012.